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Tag Archives: February 29

It only comes around once every four years, but why? Why do we have Leap years? Who came up with the idea of adding an extra day to our calendar? Well, those are all questions we have asked at some point, and the whole purpose of leap year (and significance of the leap day) is very important. The Earth actually takes a little bit longer than a year to travel around the Sun. To be exact, it takes 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds (chiff.com). To account for the discrepancy between the solar year and the man-made calendar year, an extra day was occasionally added to the calendar. That extra day was chosen to be February 29, and thus, Leap Day was born. Leap Days only occur every four years, as they are only included in years divisible by four (2008, 2012, 2016, etc.).

So now you may ask what if you are born on a Leap Day? Technically your birthday only comes around once every four years, so when do you celebrate? Typically, those born on Leap Day (or “leaplings” as they are usually called) will choose either February 28 or March 1 to celebrate their birthday and some choose to celebrate only on February 29. It is commonly believed that those born on February 29 have unusual talents and personalities. Leap Day is also the one day of the year where women propose to their men, instead of the other way around. Whether you were born on Leap Day, or just like to celebrate the occasion, we here at Filters Fast would like to wish you all a very happy Leap Day!